This study of the weekly parsha is dedicated
in the loving memory of Mrs. Ethel Sakash Belk, my mother, may
she rest in peace.

STORY: Dedication of the New Temple

Many, many years ago my family participated
in the purchase of land, construction and dedication of a new
Temple. I was very young at the time but remember we first tore
down the old building, removing and storing sacred items that
would be used in the new building. We also used bricks and other
materials from the old building in the construction of the new.
We recycled what was usable from the old building in the new.
This was so long ago that the events almost escaped me without
a notice. It's strange how things like that can happen. Memories
drift off into obscurity, then one day something happens that
return them just as if they happened yesterday. Our Chah Nu Khas
Ha Bais, dedication of the Temple building, was near Pesach.
We were forced to move into our new facility before it was complete.
For some reason the building we had been using was not available
any longer. Our new building had a basement but the stairs were
not in place. This huge hole was covered with boards and a large
railing. The railing was nothing more than a challenge for for
me. I was a show off. I climbed the railing and jumped down on
the boards covering the hole. I began jumping up and down showing
off. One of the boards became dislodged and I fell through to
the concrete below. Thank G-d I wasn't hurt.

The dedication of the Mishkon transpired on
the first day of Nisan which, as I recall, was close to the time
we dedicated our Temple even though it was not completed. Now
the Mishkon in the wilderness was completed in advance of its
dedication. Yet our mystical spiritual Mishkon is more like the
uncompleted Temple when I was a youth. Still, both are houses
of worship. One is a physical house of worship and the other
is a private, unseen, unnoticed, hidden house of worship. The
physical house in the BaMidbar was completed before we used it.
The spiritual house within us may have some serious gaping holes
that need serious attention.

We read in the Torah of the wise people that
participated in the construction of the Mishkon. Then we stop
and ponder, 'Who has participated in the construction of our
spiritual Temple?' Dear holy reader, when considering my spiritual
Temple it unfortunately has been constructed by both righteous
and corrupt people. Your Temple may be like mine. And even though
that may be the situation, it is our responsibility to dedicate
our Temple as a holy place unto Hashem. It is our responsibility
to anoint every article within our Temple as holy unto G-d! It
is our responsibility to maintain our Temple as a place of GREAT
HOLINESS!

It is distressing when I fail to accomplish
this great responsibility. It is for this reason that I look
forward to Pesach, to the housecleaning, to the separation and
removal of chometz. This spring cleaning ritual is one
of the greatest reminders to each of us and our children that
we MUST expel the haughtiness in our lives, that we MUST remove
our dirty pride. This ritual of spring is like an anchor that
will allow us to drift only so far until the next Pesach, until
the next time of major housecleaning.

Holy reader, while we clean our physical house
in preparation for Pesach, our attention should be drawn to the
EXTREME NEED to clean and purify our spiritual house! Think of
how nice it feels when retiring at day's conclusion, to bathe
and then to crawl into a bed made with fresh, clean linens. It's
w o n d e r f u l ! ! Dear reader, when we read the words of
Parshas Pekudei, "And spoke Hashem to Moshe saying, 'In
the day [of the moon's] renewal, in the first [day] of [the moon's]
renewal set up the Mishkon, the Tent of Meeting...'" In
other words, OPEN HOUSE! Begin operating! Start the process that
the house is intended for! Holy reader, we have already entered
the time period when the Mishkon was dedicated thousands of years
ago. The moon's renewal occurred several days ago. We have already
entered the month of Nisan. We are now in that time zone of renewal.
It is for this reason that we MUST consider our own actions.
We are approaching the Festival of Freedom. Soon our neshamas
will surge like rockets into space! We are in this freedom zone
when it should be easier for us to repair, to clean and to polish
areas in our lives that at other times of the year are not so
sensitive to change. Please don't pass this wonderful time of
opportunity by. Get absorbed by and become consumed by the removal
of chometz. Use this opportunity to advance and improve
your spirituality!

Good Shabbos!

Dr. Akiva G. Belk

Weekly Studies

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